There was quite an event that happened this weekend just gone – The Bletchley Park “Annual Enigma Reunion”.

I say quite an event, not only for the interesting topic, but also the nature of the way the reunion was publicized … and you could say there is a certain amount of irony in this or even paradox!

Let me explain – and this, in the end, is all about social media … bear with me.

In my mind, other than the Enigma de-cryption, Bletchley Park (at that time) created what all of us now rely on daily:  the computer.

I know that historians will have Charles Babbage down as the originator of the computer (or difference engine) and they’re right!   He was albeit 70 odd years before.  However, the technology was not there to really “run with it” and create enough groundswell with the leading thinkers to “see it through”.  He did get funding but, alas, kept “tweaking the idea” to the extent that the funders pulled out.

He, sadly, died pretty much penniless and un-loved.

The main problem he had was the lack of “forward thinking” from the people around him. They could not see where this was taking them even though the genius of it was un-disputed.

So we now track forward to World War II and the entrance of, possibly, the real father of computers – Alan Turing, and arguably “Hut 8”.

I say “the real father of computers” because he “mapped out” the arithmetic behind, what is now the basics of all computing.

Alas he died very much un-loved as well. He poisoned himself (allegedly) after being “out-ed” as gay – a very sad end to a genius.

But here’s the rub.

Both of these chaps did not know (or didn’t have) the means to build such a machine.

Enter my hero of computing – Tommy Flowers.

Tommy Flowers, “telecommunications expert” for the general Post Office knew how to build one – and he did, but not before being dismissed as a “looney” by the army.

Using £1000 of his own money he went ahead and built “Colossus” the first real computer using valves as switches – all 1800 of them. (Today, we use silicone chips to do the same thing). In 1944 the army commissioned him to build the machines for them, and these machines helped us de-code the Axis encryptions and the rest, as they say, is history.

Although Flowers was not allowed to talk about what he did, his story has happy ending. He died in 1998 having had a full life, and his computers were only decommissioned in 1960.

So we owe a lot to these men, and I would argue Tommy Flowers, for being able to build the machine in the first place.

So what has this all to do with social media?

Fact

Firstly, without them I would not have the means to publish this piece in this manner and you would not have the means to read it in this manner – I could not share this info with you.

Irony

Secondly, and here’s the irony. Those genius thinkers at Bletchley Park all those years ago were ahead of their time and today it is no different.

They are using social media platforms such as Twitter, Flickr etc to “broadcast” their event – click here – .  So not only were they ahead of their time (and with much opposition) all those years ago, it would appear that things are the same today, as they were 65 years ago.

Paradox

Thirdly and here’s the Paradox. 65 years ago they used computers to “crack” secret code now they use computers to freely share information – they want you to see it and benefit from it.

65 years ago, overnight, we embraced computers. 65 years on we must embrace social media and socialnomics.

Have your vote on who are the heroes of computing here.

You can follow Bletchley Park on Twitter here

Credit: I would like to thank John Sargent for bringing the event this weekend just gone, to my attention via social media.